Tolerating Haircuts 101
Photo by https://kidshairsalon.biz/
Haircuts involve just about every sensory experience.
Tactile through the feeling of the cape around your body, the hair falling off, or the water touching you
Auditory in hearing the clipper or scissors trim your hair and hearing the others around you.
Visual seeing the hair fall down away from you and seeing an array of mirrors around the room.
All of the scents that are present in a salon.
For a child who has a hard time sitting still, they are also likely getting proprioceptive input from their parents helping to hold them still.
Vestibular input going up and down or swiveling in the salon chair.
AND SO MUCH MORE. The list goes on and on. This can be very overwhelming for children (and for some adults), especially those with sensory processing differences.
Occupational therapy practitioners can assist families in implementing both preventative strategies as well as interventions for activities such as haircutting. This can include making modifications to the environment or the task (aka – the haircut), as well as providing intervention directly to the child to help increase tactile tolerance prior to the day of getting a haircut.
Before the haircut:
Roleplay haircuts with your child- on a stuffed animal, dolls, dad, etc
Be intentional about the words you use. "Trim, trim, trim," "buzz, buzz, buzz" "clip clip clip."
Read books about getting haircuts.
Have your child watch videos of kids or cartoons getting their hair cut (such as a friend, sibling, or even videos on YouTube). Daniel Tiger has a great video that many kiddos we work with love to watch before or even during their haircut.
Look into specially designed hair clipping products, such as The Calming Clipper if you are planning to cut their hair at home.
Try to schedule the haircut appointment at a time of day your child is most happy and calm, definitely not during a time that they should be napping or that would greatly disrupt their routine.
Do the Wilbarger Therapressure Protocol with brushing and joint compressions (with the direction of a trained occupational therapist) to help increase tactile tolerance and calming/regulation.
Engage your kiddo in types of heavy work/big body movement prior to the haircut.
Have rhythmic music or visual present for calming (Jeff Strong Calming Rhythms is great for this!)
Make a visual schedule with what is happening so he knows when it is coming and what to expect.
Find a child-specific hair stylist or someone who has experience working with children with sensory processing differences.
During the haircut:
Use a familiar towel from home as a haircutting cape and then secure it with a safety pin, clothespin, or chip clip.
Wear a button-up or zip-up top if possible (with a shirt underneath), so it can be removed as soon as the haircut is over so any small hairs that are remaining on the clothing don’t itch or irritate the child after the haircut is over.
Wear a weighted vest or have a weighted blanket/lap pad present.
See our blog post on weighted vests for some that are not only functional but super cute.
Deep, gentle pressure to the scalp, neck, and shoulders.
Use visuals during the haircut visit. If you know the basic sequence that will be performed, you can have that available so your child knows where they are at in the sequence and what steps still need to be completed before it’s finished.
For example: sit in chair, cape on, spray hair, buzzing clippers and/or scissors, hair dryer, cape off, all done chair, prize. If you need to, you could even have each step as a Velcro icon on a sequence strip. After each step is done, either you or your child could be responsible for pulling the icon off and sticking it to the back of the strip to signify that part is “all done”.
Calming music/drums (again, Jeff Strong has his brain shift radio and some on Spotify which we love!)
Have your child bring one or a few preferred items into the haircutting chair, such as a small toy, fidgets, book, or as a last resort a favorite show or video on a tablet or phone.
Bring a snack that will help keep your child still such as a fruit pouch, cup with a no-spill straw, Goldfish crackers, etc.
Allow the child to look in the mirror as the haircut is happening so they can see it if they demonstrate curiosity. If the stylist is cutting and the child watches the hair fall and becomes upset, turn them away from the mirror.
If you know or can plan how long the haircut will take, use a visual timer so there is a definitive end time to the task.
After the haircut:
Provide a tangible reward or fun/preferred activity directly after the haircut. This could be something edible or maybe a short trip to a special place (e.g., frozen yogurt, favorite park or playground, Grandma’s house, etc.).
Remember, if haircuts at a salon are too much for your child right now, that is absolutely okay! Try it at home in an environment that they are familiar with. Allow your child to come with you when you get a haircut. Allow your child to learn more about haircuts practicing on stuffed animals or dolls with hair and build it into a social story. Most importantly, if you don’t already work with an occupational therapist and this is an area that is especially challenging for your child, it may be worthwhile to explore an evaluation!
Be sure to reach out if you have any questions, we are always here to answer or help connect you with practitioners in your area that can support you!
